Halloween wishes
by fate0fox
Summary: Sarah is working in theater in the Big Apple, but something is missing from her life. Will she realize what she's missing? (Rated M just in case!)
1. Chapter 1

_I can't do anything right, can I? _Sarah fumed as yet another mask she was creating shifted on its frame. Sarah had always been an artistic child, and desperately wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps onto the stage. As soon as she turned 18 she fled for the bright lights of the Big Apple, hoping to leverage her name and her mother's likeness into stardom. Unfortunately, her mother's descent into addiction made her a curiosity at best to the powers-that-be of the theater, and she never quite managed to get the roles she believed in her heart she was born to play. Instead, she fell in with the stage hands and crew, their boisterous nature reminding her fleetingly of her imaginary playmates when she was a child.

Now, five years later, she was comfortable as an assistant to the design crew. One of the best parts of a big city were the Halloween celebrations, and she always made her own masks and costumes. She wasn't the worlds' greatest seamstress, but her masks haunted the memories of everyone who saw them – the same way masks haunted her dreams a few times a year. Four times a year Sarah was haunted by images of a world she wasn't quite sure she believed existed – a world where she danced with an imposing figure with mismatched eyes. She ripped the mask off of its frame and held it in her lap, pondering.

_It's almost Halloween, and this is the last mask to finish for the holiday. Why won't this one cooperate?_The mask stared mutely back at her, slightly accusatory with its owl-eyes and sharp beak. She sighed._ One more shot, and I'm giving up for the night. _She glanced at the clock – it was nearly midnight. A frisson of – something – sent chills up her spine. She rolled her eyes at herself. _You had a chance, assuming your imagination didn't create the Underground and all its inhabitants. Leave it to you to create an imposing, fierce, and somehow gentle man and spend the rest of your life pining for something that you'll never have again._ Sarah settled the mask back on the frame, determined that she would get this one just right. _I wish I had a chance to see if my dreams were real or not. _She didn't notice she made her wish right at midnight, and fell into a gentle slumber at her work.

"Majesty!" the goblin ran into the throne room, gasping.

"Yes?" Jareth replied, turning from the window where he looked upon his kingdom.

"Your Lady has made a wish!" The goblin scampered around gleefully, dancing on one foot as he watched his king's expression.

Jareth stilled, his expression unreadable. There was hope, despair, anger, and angst vying for attention in his mind. _She knows I have no power over her. _"What exactly did she wish for? Did it at least start with I WISH?" He sneered at his minion.

Fred, the goblin, was not bright enough to know he was on thin ice. "Majesty! She did! She said: "I wish I had a chance to see if my dreams were real or not.' That counts, doesn't it?"

Jareth sighed, then thought. _Dreams. I can work with dreams._ Jareth vanished and entered his Work Room.


	2. the Work Room

Jareth's Work Room existed slightly to the left of the Underground. This protected Underground from any potential mishaps, and allowed any Work to take as long as it needed to be successful. The room itself was round and sealed for protection; only a mage of his strength could find his way in. The room was still a part of the castle, only here the heavy walls of solid granite were in place to keep the magic from going awry. Jareth glanced at the walls and the candles set into the rock flared into light. He stepped into the Circle at the center of the room, focusing on awakening the inherent protections. Nothing was ever fool-proof, as Jareth was well aware. Arrogance and cockiness led him to be thwarted by a mere slip of a girl, and he had learned some caution in the intervening years.

Jareth floated, lotus-style, in the center of his Circle and pondered. He considered and discarded several scenarios where he could bring her to the Underground, but none seemed to suit. He had been unable to interact with her once she beat the Labyrinth and left his world. Only at the four quarters of the year when the veils between the worlds were thin could he observe Sarah in her surroundings. He always had hope that she would reopen the doors to his world as he observed the Underground's influence in her life. It was noticeable in her current life in New York; most pretty young ingénues with her temper and ego would have given up on theater when they realized they would not become an instant star. Instead, her easy camaraderie with the wild antics of the crew and stage hands made Jareth realize that something of the goblin world was instinctively appealing to her. Later, when she began to make masks and costumes that echoed the denizens of his world, he ordered minions to keep watch for any possible opening back into her life. The wish she had made was just the chance he needed – by wishing to know whether her dreams were real or not, she had unwittingly returned to him some power over her. It wasn't much, but he was the Master of Illusion, and could weave his illusions to show Sarah how real the Underground was. _Even better,_ he mused as he watched memories of Sarah in one of his many crystals; _she is old enough to understand desire, unlike the girl who visited before_. If there was one thing Jareth understood, it was the manipulation of desires. As he watched over the last few days of Sarah's life, an idea began to take shape in his mind.

_She wishes to know whether or not her dreams were real? I can accommodate that._ _As long as she willingly gives me power over her, I have a chance to reclaim what is mine. _Jareth began to weave his spell. His eyes began to glow in the candlelight and his smile began to twist as a crystal ball appeared, filled with tendrils of smoke, then winked out of existence and into Sarah's world.


End file.
